Wednesday, April 24, 2013

J/111 SEGLING Test
(Marstrand, Sweden)- Recently, the largest Swedish sailing magazine, SEGLING, completed a full-on test/ review of the J/111 with a team of experienced sailors led by Curt Gelin.

As reported by Peter Gustafsson, owner of J/11 BLUR.SE, "We had the test team out on a windy day last August and managed to put some smiles on their faces! Curt wrote the book "700 Tested Sailboats" - and I've never read such a passionate review!! They loved the boat."

Some quotable quotes:
- "Do you love speed and have 2 million kronor left over. Then, the J/111 might be the boat for you."
- "The lines are swanky, the speed amazing, and control direct and distinct."
- "The long sprit was introduced by J/Boats on the J/105 in 1991 (the world's first modern sprit production boat) and it offers fabulous control. We managed to broach anyway, because we laughed too much and trimmed to little, when the boat thundered away at 15-16 knots of boat speed!"

Recently, Belgian sailors had their taste of the J/70 sailing experience. Their premiere sailing magazine- VAREN- did a test of the J/70 on the Braassemermeer and it was recently featured in latest issue- please see http://www.varen.be

Cover Girl- J/70! Did anyone see the April issue of Sailing World magazine? The J/70 was on the cover and SW Editor Dave Reed's article was about the J/70 sailing experience in Key West Race Week. In addition, the "From the Expert's" article was about sportboat tips that are directly applicable to the 70.

Cover Girl- J/24! The March Sailing World cover was about how the International J/24 continues to maintain passionate, devoted followers of the world's largest one-design keelboat class. With used J/24s available at affordable prices, the J/24 class continues to attract many of the world's best sailors worldwide due to its affordability, quality of competition and depth of talent. What was true 35 years ago is true today, one-design keelboat sailing in a strictly controlled ISAF one-design class affords many people the opportunity to learn quickly and progress forward according to their ability-- at any level of sailing-- locally, regionally, nationally or globally. Even America's Cup and Volvo Race sailors owe their experience as sailors to J/24s. Never forget it! Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com and Sharon Green/ Ultimate Sailing.com.J/80s Hong Kong Nation's Cup
(Hong Kong, China)- The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's Nations' Cup has already attracted 73 entries from 23 nations - many of whom will spend the days leading up to the event deciding what costumes to wear and what national delicacy to bring to the 'after-party'. The race starts on Saturday, April 27th and the intent is to go "around the island" (Hong Kong, of course) as members of "national teams".

Crews are formed along the lines of nation of origin or allegiance. While the Nationality Criteria states that "100% of crew members must be nationals of the country which is represented by the boat they are racing on", the same criteria then go on to offer a multitude of different ways that a 'wannabe' can qualify - all the way down to representing a Nation in the Miss Universe Pageant.

Racing will feature a pursuit race following a simple course, starting in Victoria Harbour at Kellett Island and taking the fleet eastwards, out through Lei Yue Mun Gap, to a turning mark which will be selected to suit the prevailing weather conditions. Once around, the boats will re-enter the Harbour and, with a bit of cooperation from the wind gods, race back to the finish line at Kellett Island.

Coveted prizes include the right of the winning nation to place their flag on conspicuous display behind the Club's Main Bar until the 2014 race and, of course, the bragging rights that go with proving themselves to be "Champion Sailing Nation of The Year".

The first boat home in the inaugural event in 2011 was England, followed by Ireland, Australia, Sweden, Scotland and Japan. The 2012 edition had to be abandoned due to lack of wind and miserable weather conditions, however the 'after party' more than made up for any disappointment.

In addition to the fleet of one-design J/80s will be a raft of handicap-racing boats, including a J/111, J/105, J/109, J/92 and even J/24s! More fun and games racing around Hong Kong Island!
For more Royal Hong Kong YC Nation's Cup sailing informationNew US Sailing Adult Championship In J/24s!Men & Women to Compete in Open Format First Time!
(Portsmouth, RI) – US Sailing has adapted one of its most historic championships (the Mallory Trophy) into a new and exciting event for competitive adult women and men sailors in America. The first edition of the US Adult Sailing Championship for the Clifford D. Mallory Trophy will take place August 22-25, 2013 at the Rochester Yacht Club in Rochester, NY in matched, one-design international J/24 class sailboats!

The US Adult Sailing Championship features an open format allowing women and men to compete as skipper or crew. While women have been sailing for the US Men’s Championship since its inception, they were only permitted to race as crew. With more and more mixed gender teams now racing, there was demand for a championship to meet this ever-growing segment of the sport.

“Through hard work and dedication of the committee and Rochester Yacht Club, this championship has been restyled and rejuvenated for a broader field of participants, while allowing its rich, historical significance to continue within the sailing community,” said Shannon Bush, Chairperson of US Sailing’s Championship Committee.

Sponsored by Gill North America, the US Adult Sailing Championships will have no gender restrictions on skipper or crews. Teams will be limited by weight. The traditional format of qualifying events remains has been expanded. Local sailing organizations will field teams to Area Qualifiers or designated qualifying events with two teams rather than one from Areas A, B, C, D, E, F, G, K and J and one team from Areas L and H proceeding onto the finals. Teams will compete in the finals in a round robin format on provided one-design International J/24s- THE world's largest one-design sailboat class. In fact, many local J/24 fleets are helping to sponsor/ support this year's inaugural event with local/ regional qualifying regattas-- please be sure to contact them! Girl's rule? Maybe this year is that opportunity!!

"For many years, competitive sailors have been putting together teams of great male and female sailors to compete at local, national,and international events," said Linda Epstein, Chairperson of the US Adult Sailing Championships. "Now, they will have the chance to put together their best team from their local sailing area to compete for a US Sailing championship and the opportunity to win the Clifford D. Mallory Trophy." Learn more about eligibility requirements, qualification process, boat and equipment, scoring, prizes, and more. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.comJ/Navy Sailing Rolex FastnetJ/Boats Dominant Brand in Record Fleet
(Cowes, Isle of Wight, England)- The RORC's Rolex Fastnet Race is certainly not for the faint of heart. A legendary offshore classic, it's a race that has challenged the world's best offshore sailors for decades. For many, memorialized in the infamous 1979 event and seared into one's consciousness-- yes, it can be one of the world's most capricious races literally within sight of land. Ask any member of George David's RAMBLER 100 team in the 2011 edition shortly after they passed Fastnet Rock how quickly conditions and one's life can change for the worst in a split-second.

The 2013 edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race promises a challenge again to navigators and crews. Remarkably, this will be the first time that "J" is the dominant brand with 44 boats sailing or nearly 13% of the fleet in IRC Class of 340 boats. Comparably speaking, the big billion dollar French company Beneteau (supported/ subsidized by the French Government) only has 42 First's sailing in the fleet; the famous mega-yacht company Nautor-Swan company from Finland has just 17 Swan's-a-sailing; the dominant Danish X-Yachts has 15 teams participating; Italy's premiere Grand Soleil sees 11 "spaghetti-swans" cruising and the reputable French Archambault yard sees 10 teams engaged. A rather remarkable turn of events to see an American company leading the fleet in Europe in one of its legendary offshore races!?

If you recall, in 2011 the J/111 XCENTRIC RIPPER from Benelux was winning IRC Overall and Double-handed Class at the famous rounding mark, Fastnet Rock Lighthouse. Sailed by the extremely experienced offshore team, John van der Starre and Robin Verhoef, the RIPPER simply sailed an incredibly smart, fast race, even rounding Fastnet Rock ahead of another experienced offshore team on a J/111. Their performance is simply an illustration of how easy it is for any sailor to have fun and be successful offshore with their J.

Three J/111s will be participating this year, two in IRC Racing and one in IRC Double classes. Leading the charge again for double-handers will surely be the offshore duo of John van der Starre and Robin Verhoef sailing "the RIPPER"-- 3rd in 2011 and was fleet leader at Fastnet Rock! The JUST 4 SAILING syndicate from Belgium will be racing DJINN and Andrew Hill from England will be sailing OJE in IRC Racing class.

Twenty-two J/109s sailing means they're the biggest one-design fleet period (and the largest J fleet participating) with three nations represented with the majority from England and the others from Ireland- Andrew Sarratt's JEDI- and the Netherlands- Kees Mijs' ARETHUSA and Paul van der Pol's YETI. While far too numerous to list the range of possibilities for the British teams, there are both new faces and familiar ones that have campaigned J/109s for years and participated in past Fastnets. Amongst those boats will be the top five J/109s from the 2011 Fastnet, including Tor McLaren's INSPARA, Robin Taunt's JIBE, Kees Mijs's ARETHUSA, Phil Nelson's JOLENE and Greg Nasmyth's JARHEAD.

Seven J/122s are represented by no less than five countries, proving yet again the popularity of this IRC cruiser-racer worldwide and its ability to perform and garner its fair share of silverware in the major offshore races around the world. For starters, one of the more famous J/122s will be sailing in IRC Double Class, Rob Craigie's J-BELLINO from England, famous for winning not only its class, but nearly overall, in the last OSTAR trans-Atlantic Race single-handed! Other J/122 contenders include 2011 Fastnet IRC 2 winner NUTMEG IV (Francois Lognone) from France. Plus, other top teams include Ireland's AQUELINA (Jim Tyrrell), England's JOOPSTER (Neil Kipling), The Netherlands' JUNIQUE (Chris Revelman), the other French team of LORELEI (Alain Catherineau) and the first Russian J/122 owner, Artem Brum sailing KNYAZ.

Four J/133s will be racing that include local/ regional champions in their respective sailing areas, such as England's Nigel Passmore on APOLLO 3 and Angus Bates' ASSARAIN IV; Yves Grosjean's JIVARO from France that nearly won IRC 1 in the 2011 race; and the Irish family team of Alan, Bruce and James Douglas on SPIRIT OF JACANA.

Four J/105s will have the fleet divided evenly between IRC Racing and IRC Double. Leading the charge in the double-handers will be Nick Martin's DIABLO-J (a past class winner) and Jim Heald's FLAWLESS J. In IRC Racing class are Tom Hayoe's MOSTLY HARMLESS and Richard Cashmore's SLINGSHOT.

Finally, no matter how you slice IRC classes, sure to be a factor in their respective groups will be a cross-section of veteran ocean-racers like the J/120 RHAPSODIE V (Jean Jacques Godet from France), the two J/35s forming a pan-European contingent (Germany's CHOSI 6 sailed by Mike Wunderlich and Belgium's RAGAZZA lead by the team of Gabriel, De Bie & Malchair) and the equally famous J/39 SLEEPER VIII sailed by Jonty Layfield. Sailing photo credits- Rolex/ Kurt Arrigo. For more 2013 Rolex Fastnet Race sailing informationJ/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

Spring finally sprung in most places in the northern hemisphere, even more so than last weekend. It sprung big time on the Solent this past weekend. Just in time, in fact, for Solent sailors to enjoy a full weekend of racing on Saturday and Sunday participating in the Warsash Spring Championships as well as their Spring Series. With the season opener for the J/111s, the fleet had terrific sailing conditions to shake out the winter cobwebs and get rolling for the season. Fleets of J/70s, J/80s and J/109s all had fun sailing and close competition. For the Benelux sailors across "La Manche", the spring conditions for the Van Uden Reco Stellendam Regatta were almost too nice as it also wreaked havoc on the wind conditions. Down in the Mediterranean, a J/111 sailed Italy's most prestigious offshore event, the RomaXuttti Race- a 530nm mile off Italy that saw near summer-like conditions. In America, the enormous Charleston Race Week saw absolutely epic sailing conditions on Friday followed by good conditions on Saturday. But nuking, dogs getting blown off chains conditions on Sunday cut it all short for the fleet. Nevertheless, the massive debut of the J/70 class at CRW (largest class by a country mile with 55 boats sailing, 50% greater than ANY other one-design fleet in attendance) made for excellent sailing. Other J/classes with nice turn-outs included the J/22s, J/24s and J/80, plus there was excellent PHRF handicap sailing with J/111s, J/122, J/120, J/109, J/105, J/35, J92 and J/29s! Looking upside down on the world, the good folks Down Under in Australia had a rollicking good times sailing their J/24 Victoria State Championships. And, just next door across the bottom of the Pacific, the Chileans had their first J/105 Nationals off Algarrobo, Chile!

Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north. Check them out! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it orupload onto our J/Boats Facebook page! Below are the summaries.

After their finish in Riva di Traiano, the huge, well-deserved victory by Massimo Colosimo and his crew (including Marzio Dotti, Stefano Pellizza and Antonello Perina) was cause for grand celebration. The J-STORM team made the award-winning tactical choice-- contrary to the route taking by most of the fleet along the coast, Colosimo instead opted for a route further offshore which proved to be very advantageous, especially going outside of the islands.

Said Stefano Pelliza, "We won the race in IRC by arriving 4th real-time in a fleet of 60 boats and we finished very close (4 minutes behind) to a 50 ft canting keel racer! We had good fun racing in light wind and sunny conditions. We had beautiful spring sailing conditions and the boat was pretty fast sailing offshore, especially reaching under the spinnaker and staysail combination!" For more RomaXtutti Offshore race sailing informationGRAND SLAM Wins CHILE J/105 Nationals
(Algarrobo, Chile)- For two consecutive weekends of April (6-7th and 13-14th) the fleet of eighteen J/105s sailed on the beautiful waters in the Bay of Algarrobo, competing for top honors in the Chilean J/105 fleet's first National Championship.

Both weekends had a great wind conditions for sailing, between 10 an 15 knots from the southwest - the best local wind - and gently rolling offshore swell in excess of 6.5 feet! Teams that could master good upwind speed and turn the top mark and make use of the great surfing conditions often made significant gains on their competitors.

From the beginning, it was clear that three teams were battling for the podium and dominated the regatta. However, notably five boats won races in the nine race event and thirteen of the eighteen boats (nearly 75% of the fleet) posted top five scores in their overall records! That's a wonderful indicator of good, close, competitive racing to have the kind of scoring distribution across the fleet.

In the end, Patricio Seguel's team on GRAND SLAM were declared Chile's first J/105 National Champions! They managed to hold off their two closest competitors and after two discard races, scored all top three finishes for a total of 13 net pts. Scoring two 1sts and two 2nds was not enough to chase down the leader for Miguel Salas' team on BIG BOOTY, ending up with 19 net pts to secure a well-deserved second overall. Chasing both teams was Vernon Robert's ARCHIMIDES, themselves also counting two 1sts and a 2nd in their scoreline, but not enough to catch the others with a 22 pts net for the regatta.

Rounding out the top five were Pedro Perez's RECLUTA with 28 pts net in fourth place and in fifth was Daniel Gonzalez's crew on TRICALMA with 31 pts. Of special note is that Jose Manuel Ugarte's SCIMITAR #526 was the 2011 J/105 North American Champion in Marblehead, MA, now living a wonderful new life sailing on the Pacific and doing well, getting a 6th overall in its first regatta in Chile!

The J/105 was introduced in Algarrobo, Chile 17 years ago with a few units and at the end of 2010 the class was launched by Algarrobo Yacht Club members. Nowadays there are more than 25 boats in the central part of Chilean Coast (Viña del Mar, Valparaíso and Algarrobo). As a result of that effort and passionate enthusiasm by Chilean sailors, the J/105 class has become the principal family-fun, one-design yacht in Chile!

The fleet will meet again on May 11 & 12th in Viña del Mar for the Chilean Navy Day Celebration, locally known as "Glorias Navales", where many classes join together to celebrate the event. For more Chilean J/105 Nationals sailing information and photosGreat Sailing Van uden Reco RegattaJ/111 2nd IRC, BIG LIFT Takes J/22s
(Stellendam, Netherlands)- With more than 120 boats on the start line, the Van Uden Reco Stellendam Regatta promised to have lots of action and fun for the offshore sailing season opener in the Netherlands. Traditionally, the event is marked by an enormous fish fry and beer party where the local fisherman host the event, cooking up all kinds of local delicacies, including even lobster! Plus, the sponsor Pantaenius ensure there's plenty of beer on hand for the sailors to wash down all the yummy seafood!

The predictions regarding the weather promised a weekend full of sun and plenty of breeze. Whether there would still be enough wind Sunday was the real question on everyone's minds as the weekend unfolded.

On Friday afternoon the Stellendam Marina slowly filled with all kinds of one-design class boats ready for a race weekend at the Haringvliet. For most sailors the regatta was a short drive, but the Van Uden Reco is worth it! For the J/22 fleet, two German teams looked forward to joining the party on and off the water and traveled to Stellendam. On Friday, it was cold and windy, so many teams launched, went for a quick practice sail then came back in to refuel, stay warm and prepare for up to eight races on the schedule.

Despite the crazy weather this year Saturday dawned quite warm, so woolly hats were substituted with long shirts and caps to shield everyone from the warm sun. It soon became apparent that the wind forecasts were wrong. The prediction was a Force 5 11-15 kts wind. There was enough wind to get off four races and the sun made it a perfect sailing day! After a long, exhausting, but fun day on the water, the sailors all looked forward to the massive outdoor cookout on shore with ham, hamburgers, fish fry and plenty of beer. A good time was had by all as the sun sank further behind the shed and the temperature dropped (it was freezing at night!).

Unfortunately, predictions regards wind on Sunday came truer than anyone hoped. With plenty of sun in the sky, the wind was hard to find! However, it began to blow a little more in the course of the morning and the sailing teams were sent onto the water. It was a good decision, because not much later there was a breeze at Force 3-4! At noon was the first start for most classes and courses. For the J/22s, the fleet managed to get in three short races. However, the offshore boats had less luck, barely getting in two to three good races (depending on the course), leading to many boats simply dropping out due to lack of wind.

In the IRC Class, the three J/111s made the best of the conditions, particularly on Saturday's windier day. As a result, finishing 2nd in IRC was XCENTRIC RIPPER- John van der Starre- sailing to a 2-1-1-2-5-5 record for 11 net pts. Also sailing but having a hard time on the super-light Sunday were SWEENY (Hans Zwinjnenburg) and LALLEKONING (M Sigg).

In the ORC classes, the J/105 JIPPA was sailed by Andre Zijderveld in ORC2. And in ORC3, the J/80s were having fun with a "sub-fleet" one-design competition amongst each other. Leading the J/80s in 4th was JOT (M Menck), second J/80 lying 6th in fleet was nJOY (Coen van Even) and third J/80 was DJ (OJ Golverdingen).

The J/22s had some spirited racing, especially on the windier Saturday. The nearly windless Sunday jumbled the standings as different teams excelled in one condition versus the other. Taking the top spot after finishing Saturday in third overall was BIG LIFT/ Happy Future (Nico van der Kolk), sailing to a 3-6-4-4-1-2-2 for 22 net pts. Just two points back after a slow start on Sunday was BIG LIFT/ Happy Star (Jeremy Moens), recording a scoreline of 5-4-5-1-5-3-1 for 24 pts. Third was BATAVAIA STAD (Christian Rieckborn) with a 2-1-6-7-7-5-4 record for 32 pts. Rounding out the top five were JOLLY JUMPER (Ivo Jeukens) in 4th with 34 pts and in 5th was DE KANTOORBUTLER (Stan Heltzel) with 37 pts. Note, after the first day, Heltzel was the regatta leader with a 1-5-1-5 but got DSQ'd in race 5 on Sunday to hurt their chances at a podium finish. For more Van Uden Reco Stellendam Regatta sailing informationBig Fleets, Big Winds @ Charleston Race WeekJ/Teams Sweep Perpetual Trophies!
(Charleston, SC)- Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week has a reputation for consistent, solid breeze. In fact, Charleston’s great wind is one of the big reasons this event has grown so spectacularly over the past decade. It was on the eve of the regatta when most weather models predicted big breeze for the start of racing on Friday, with Sunday promising similarly apocalyptic conditions. And that is exactly what the 2013 edition received.

With the 287 teams scattered about on harbor and offshore courses, race organizers were eager to seize the day, completing 3 to 4 races in Friday’s 15-30 knot winds. Saturday’s moderate breezes and calm seas allowed for some recovery, but it was another 3 to 4 race day to insure each fleet was given the chance to sort out the pecking order in the standings. With the podium positions far from certain, Sunday looked to be the determining factor if not for one thing: the forecast. If Friday’s winds were “monster”, there really wasn’t an appropriate superlative to describe what happened Sunday morning. Rapidly increasing winds and huge seas offshore (8 feet at the mouth of Charleston Harbor) prompted the principal race officers to cancel all competition offshore. Inshore, the race committees set up courses and attempted to get races going on all three courses, but the action was quickly cancelled for everyone.

Marking its debut in dramatic fashion, the 55 boat J/70 fleet was the largest at the regatta by nearly 50%! The level of competition was incredibly close and positions could change dramatically leg to leg as entire packs of boats would gain and lose on each shift, such was the tightness of the fleet. While upwind speed for most boats was quite close, it was off-the-wind, particularly in the planing conditions, where boat-handling and pure speed were permitting some teams to make dramatic gains even on the short 0.7 to 0.9 nm downwind legs. In the end, Key West Race Week winner, Tim Healy skippering HELLY HANSEN, sailed an excellent regatta, staying out of trouble and out of the corners to compile a consistent series to take the J/70s with all top five finishes as counters. Just behind them was Jud Smith sailing RELATIVE OBSCURITY, themselves also counting top five finishes in their scoreline to finish second with 21 pts net, just two back from Healy. Sailing in their first big J/70 regatta, Henry Filter dragged "Moose" Mclintock aboard as tactician to put together a great series to finish third overall with 36 pts. The balance of the top five saw St Pete NOOD Regatta winner, Joel Ronning on CATAPULT, take fourth overall and the team on STAMPEDE led by Bruno Pasquinelli (2nd at Key West Race Week) took fifth.

In the J/70s Corinthian Division (amateur teams), it was Heather Gregg-Earl and Joe Bardenheier aboard the beautifully color-coordinated MUSE/ TEAM ATLANTIS that took the honors over sixteen other teams. Second was Brian Elliott sailing B-SQUARED and third was Mike Glover and Robbie Wilkins sailing LUCY, the top local Charleston team in the regatta.

In the J/22 fleet, Chris Doyle’s consistent performance earned his team the victory. Racing "THE JUG 4 1", Doyle’s lowest score of the seven-race series was only a 3, leaving a tally of 1-2-1-1-2-2 for just 9 points. Arthur Libby on TORQEEDO trailed in second with 14 points, and Greg Fisher and Todd Hiller on LEADING EDGE placed third with 19 points. Fisher narrowly beat out the top Canadian team, Ryan Flack sailing BLIND PIG, that finished with 20 pts. Fifth was Keith Zars on USA 1646.

J/24's had the second largest J fleet sailing in the regatta with twenty-six teams showing up on the starting line. After the first six races, it was evident the top two teams were going for broke to take the lead, with Kris Werner's team on SUPERFECTA trying valiantly to hold off a strong challenge from Mike Ingham's team on USA 5443. In the end, SUPERFECTA took the top spot with scores of 1-1-3-4-1-14-6 for 16 pts net. Second was Mike Ingham scoring a 5-5-1-2-6-8-1 for 20 pts net. Third was taken by Ron Medlin Jr on BASH with consistent scores of 3-6-4-6-5-5-4 for 27 pts net. The balance of the top five included Aidan Glackin in 4th sailing the infamous MENTAL FLOSS and in fifth was Frank McNamara sailing ZOT. Good, tight racing in the J/24s, with a dozen boats all posting top five finishes over seven races!

The J/80s had a mild turnout and in the end it was Bert Carp who reigned supremo taking near straight bullets to win class on USA 11. Just behind them two points back was Richard Donn's SUPERFLOUS that took second and in third overall was Brad Bertram's ROCKET DOG.

Offshore, the PHRF fleets were treated to some excellent sailing with the solid 10-18 kt southerly breezes on Friday and the moderate NNE winds on Saturday. Taking PHRF A Big Boat division was Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK, sailing a solid series and amassing a 2-1-1-2-7-3 record for 9 pts net. Just behind them was a super-sharp J/120 team aboard the pretty flag-blue REBECCA, led by skipper Glenn Gault and tactician Terry Flynn (of J/22 World Champion fame) they managed to score a 4-3-2-1-4-2 against some top teams to net 12 pts for second place.

Within PHRF A, the J/111s had a closely fought series amongst themselves. In the end, Doug Curtiss' WICKED 2.0 prevailed with 24 pts total as top J/111. Second was the rapidly improving FIREBALL from Annapolis, MD sailed by Fast Eddie, Kristen Berry and crew. In their first major outing in a tight racing fleet, Robert Stein's KINETIC was third J/111, narrowly missing out second by one point!

In PHRF B was the "battle of the 35 footers". Gary Weisberg was the top J team, taking 4th overall with his J/109 HEAT WAVE. Fifth was the J/105 DEAD ON ARRIVAL sailed by Joe Highsmith. And, sixth was Willy Schwenzfeier's J/35 ARROW.

PHRF C had its moments and plenty of drama for the top boats. It was very close racing for these fast 30-footers and, as expected, the top teams were the J/29 MIGHTY PUFFIN and the J/92 AMIGOS. When the dust cleared, Dave Pritchard's J/92 AMIGO had to take an SCP (scoring penalty) in the first race, hurting their chances at taking the golden ring. In the end, Steve Thurston's J/29 MIGHTY PUFFIN sailed a very consistent series to score a 1-3-5-1-3-2 for 10 pts net to take the gold by one point. Second was the J/92 AMIGOS with a 6-2-3-2-1-3 for 11 pts net.

In the Pursuit Class, the only fleet to sail all three days, the J/105 JADED sailed by Peter Rugg from Long Island Sound started off with a bad first race, but rapidly learned the ropes of Charleston Harbor's whirlpool currents and twisting breezes to close on the leaders to finish 6th overall with 16 pts, just two points from third!

What was most remarkable about this year's CRW was that not only were J/Teams by far the largest brand at this year's event, but J sailors also took all three perpetual trophies! The Palmetto Cup, awarded to the best performer under PHRF, went to Robin Team and his family crew aboard their J/122 TEAMWORK. The Charleston Race Week Trophy, awarded to the top boat in the most competitive one-design class, went to J/24 Class winner Kris Werner and his Rochester, NY-based crew on board SUPERFECTA. And, the Jubilee Perpetual Sportsmanship Trophy went to local J/24 racer and the Commodore of CORA, Mike Palazzo. Palazzo and his JO MOMMA crew rescued a man overboard in Friday’s heated action and never approached the jury for redress. In fact, the skipper of the boat that lost the man overboard tried to do that on Palazzo’s behalf. Congratulations to all for job well done! Sailing photo credits- Meredith Block. For more Charleston Race Week sailing informationJ/24 Vic States A Heart Attack!PACEMAKER Overcomes CONVICTS REVENGE
(Victoria, Australia)- Two days of hard competitive racing saw Dave Suda sailing ‘Pacemaker’ regain the Vic States crown – just. Not his closest winning margin (that goes to a previous tussle with yours truly, winning on a countback in the last race), but by one point from Stephen Girdis sailing Convicts Revenge from Sydney. The most important point to take out of all this for the rest of the fleet was the lack of individual dominance that has been seen in the class over the last few years. Dave won with a score of 25 points, rather than the single digit scores we have seen sometimes recently. Put that down to the shifty conditions or to the growing depth in talent of the top half of the fleet. You choose, but congratulations go to Dave and his crew.

Previous winners Ben Lamb and Arthur Crothers didn’t defend, Ben is in the wilds of NT or FNQ (gone a roving for work … nobody knows) Sean Kirkjian was another missing face from interstate amongst many missing out on a great regatta this year. But with 19 local boats (including two interstate crews) and another two boats from interstate, the 21 boat fleet fought it out over 4 races on Saturday and 3 on Sunday.

Third was taken out by Adam Evans in SDM and it seemed this was a popular placing as the next 4 boats all came very close to coming third, with only 6 points separating 3rd from 7th and with a number of stories of ‘if onlys’ and ‘might have beens’.

Doug Watson from SA will be thinking if only he hadn’t gone deep to the left going downhill on Sunday when the wind came from the right he would have been third. Ron Thomson giving an awesome display of ability in the old green boat will be thinking how close he came to winning a new kite in the middle of the field when his OCS was reinstated back to a first, but if he hadn’t had the uncharacteristic 11th on Saturday he would have been 3rd. The girls on Hyperactive with their new ‘import’ calling the shots would be thinking that a couple of double digit placings on Sunday morning took them out of 3rd and then there is Jet going hard left to engage the forecast change when running 3rd found the breeze went the other way, losing those 6 points made all the difference.

Brendan Lee sailing ‘By the Lee’ finishing a bit further back could have been 3rd too – if only he hadn’t had the DSQ after communing with Doug MacGregor at the top mark. Doug didn’t sail after that either. If only !

Hard luck stories abound in racing, Hugo lost a rudder on the first day, the only one he had so that was catastrophic to his cause, Warren Campbell lost his kite pole around his foredeckies ear, meaning a new pole and hospital surgery for his bowman after an ambulance ride. Sam Haines and his crew all came down with gastro on Saturday night so MMJ did no work at all on Sunday – did they eat together ?

But really – was it that bad, well apart from the aching bones and sore muscles, the fleet went about it’s business in a pretty orderly way. A southeasterly on Saturday around the genoa /jib mark with many changing back and forth and a little lighter then windier from the north east on Sunday, but shifty, very shifty. It’s not often you see Dave Suda mixing it with some of the back markers and some of the back markers were pretty surprised to find themselves next to Dave !

And the Sunday was nearly Dave’s undoing, after ones and twos on Saturday and being required to wear the new ‘Club Pro T-shirt at Mike Lewenhagens great BBQ night (thanks again Mike) in the evening as he wielded the BBQ tongs and downed the sherbets, Dave put in a very ordinary day by his standards on the Sunday. With a 7,8,4 he only just scraped home ahead of Convicts Revenge. Can’t have the title going to NSW two years in a row !

As usual we had a cast of worker bees and volunteers doing the planning and organising to get us all on the water, thanks again to Sarah, Doug, Kirby and Jill, mainstays of the Vic Association, plus the committee and hangers on. Thanks once again to MonJon Security for their most appreciated and continuing support. Special mention to Sam Haines from UK sails for putting up a new kite to be won by the boat coming 11th out of 21 boats, This is to show his support for the middle of the pack, the unsung heroes of the bulk of our fleet, out there every day learning and moving up the pecking order. Of course it was won by Robin and Jim Townsend, two of the nicest people in the class …. from SA. Well Sam the plan was good and much appreciated. Sam has chartered ‘Make my Jay’ this season and is now buying the boat, pity he hasn’t got to sail it much and only got one day out of the states. Much more to come from Sam I think !

So the racing was tough, the course legs around a mile, longer than we do in club racing, but the learning curve for many is steep and rewarding. Many skippers telling me of their experiences and enjoyment, a tough but a good regatta by any standard. The highest placed new owner, Mark Foster sailing ‘Gridlock’ at 9th a very good effort, no major ups or downs, just a good consistent performance. Andy Hunting, one of our youth boat skippers at 10th with a best placed 3rd, Michael Lewenhagen a long time class stalwart, now in Vertigo has jumped up the placings to 13 and at times was right up near the pointy end. Best placed newcomer though was Bruce Alexander in ‘Melbourne Sailing’, the old ‘Dolly’ which he recently picked up for a song (and maybe some dance).

Bruce also took out the handicap win for the series ahead of John Neville in ‘Vice Versa’ (raffle winner as well) and Robin Townsend sailing in Good Company (well-- renamed from Excite Your Senses for the regatta)

Perhaps the most unusual thing to happen was a text message from a new French crew member to be sailing with Janette Symes in the middle of the night to indicate the potential success he was about to have with an Australian woman and the subsequent no show! Rotten luck Janette, I didn’t see it awarded, but that would be where you lost the Thommo Cup this year I guess!

The results this year mean the racing is wide open, Dave is nearly beatable (last seen recharging his confidence with a beer under the boat) and although the usual suspects are still near the pointy end the pattern is definitely changing. Victoria is the place to race J/24s at a club level at the moment in Australia with consistent racing all year and a strong ‘traveling’ group of owners as well. However, some of the best sailors still come from Sydney and I know Steve Girdis is taking the message home to the harbour city that the storm is coming from the South in the next two major regattas.

Now is the time to start thinking about going to the NSW States on Cup weekend at RPEYC and the Nationals at the same venue in early January and mixing it with our Sydney mates.

Finally, thanks go to all the owners, skippers and crews, their traveling companions and those left at home, without you this group of sailing loving people could not get together regularly and tell old stories while they make new ones. For more J/24 Victoria States Championship sailing informationGlorious Warsash Spring Championship!Awesome sailing for J/70, J/80, J/109 and J/111 Fleets
(Warsash, England)- It was a busy weekend for Warsash Sailing Club on 20th/21st April with racing on both days for the Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Championship and the fifth Sunday of the Spring Series. Perhaps the warmer weather had enticed new entries on the water, resulting in 150 boats ready to enjoy a busy programme of racing. Over the weekend, the race officers ran 40 separate races - a challenging but rewarding time all round.

Saturday- Spring Championship Day 1
The Spring Championship offers an intense schedule of four days’ racing, with no discards allowed. This year all IRC classes are eligible in Black Group as well as J/109s. J/111s racing in IRC1 were also given extracted results to show how they performed as a “class-within-a-class”. White Group includes classes for J/70 and J/80.

Although the day dawned with the River Hamble resembling a millpond, everyone was pleased to see the wind fill in and racing got underway without delay.

Windward/leeward courses were set for all classes in Black Group varying in length from 4.3 to 6.2 nm for IRC1/IRC2 and 3.1 to 5.5 nm for J/109 and IRC3. IRC1 had an impressive lineup that included six J/111s as well as J/133s. After an initial general recall, the class was given a second chance to start under a ‘P’ flag and all went well.

The J/109s were out in force with a 17-strong entry. Sardonyx IX (William Edwards) beat Juke Box (Chris Copeland) in Race 1 and Jahmali (Mike and Sarah Wallis) in Race 3 but clearly had problems in Race 2 where Jubilee (Tony Dickin) headed the class.

White Group completed three good races between 40 and 50 minutes in length before the wind faded away and PRO Peter Knight called it a day amidst requests from competitors and race officers alike to enjoy a beer on the terrace in the sunshine. Information from ‘Bramble-Met’ confirmed this to be a good decision since there was a lull of well over an hour before any wind returned - too late for racing.

In the J/70s North Sails (Ruairidh Scott) took two races and Boats.com (Ian Atkins) one. Betty (Jon Powell) won the first J/80 race with Juicy (Allan Higgs) 15 seconds astern. J’ai Deux Amours (Stewart Hawthorn) was a slender one second adrift in third place but returned in the second race to win. Betty came back on form for the third race.

Sunday- Spring Series Day 5, Spring Championship Day 2
The weather was bright and sunny with a forecast south-westerly breeze set to build from 10 to 17 knots during the day. The Black Group committee boat set up station near Universal buoy using courses with an initial windward leg to Williams Shipping or West Knoll buoy. The plan was to offer a longer race well over two hours to the Spring Series competitors followed by a short race for those boats entered in the Spring Championship only. The conditions offered the best sailing in the series so far, only a few sunbeams short of champagne sailing – the champagne instead being presented after racing. Smaller boats needed to choose carefully to find clear air avoiding the powerful IRC1 and IRC2 classes speeding downwind. Sundays in the Solent are also also busy with commercial traffic and the North Channel saw several shipping movements to avoid.

The Series race for IRC3 saw a very close finish, Induljence (J/97 – Nick and Adam Munday) taking first place by five seconds. Sardonyx IX scored two wins in the J/109s, to count towards the Series and Championship.

White Group enjoyed good sailing with a start near Meon. The moderate breeze remained fairly stable from the south-west necessitating only a single slight reorientation to the course to maintain good beats and runs. Racing took place on a small neap tide which may have led boats into a false sense of security. Several had to take penalties after misjudging the tide at the windward mark. This had its effect on Betty which moved her from first boat at the end of Saturday to third overall on Sunday after six races in the J/80 Spring Championship. J’ai Deux Amours grabbed the opportunity to consolidate three wins. North Sails went well in the J/70s followed by Spitfire (Team RAF Benevolent Fund) then Boats.com in each of the three races.

As a result of the weekend's sailing, taking an early lead in the J/111 class is James Arnell's JEEZ LOUISE with a consistent 2-1-3-1-1 tally for 8 pts. Just behind with just two points separating them are Duncan McDonald's SHMOKING JOE in second with a 4-2-1-4-2 for 13 pts and Tony Mack's McFLY in third with a 5-3-2-2-3 for 15 pts.

The J/109 class has been seeing a very steady performance by Mike & Sarah Wallis' team on JAHMALI, leading both the Spring Championship as well as the Spring Series. Not having sailed the Spring series hasn't seemed to have handicapped William Edwards' team on SARDONYX IX. Blasting out of the box on Saturday, the SARDONYX IX crew continued their winning ways on Sunday, sitting 2nd in the Spring Champs as a result of collecting four 1sts! Just behind in them in the Spring Champs is Tony Dickin's JUBILEE with a somewhat roller-coaster scorecard. As for the Spring series scenario, the JAHMALI crew can't rest on their laurels as Owain Franks & Jean Lockett's JYNNAN TONNYX crew are hot on their tail and just one point back. Still sitting in third for the series is David Mcgough's JUST SO.

The J/70 class has seen the teams fluctuate on performance based on weather conditions. Nevertheless, showing greater consistency of late is Ruairidh Scott's NORTH SAILS team, leading both the Spring Championship as well as the Spring Series-- running the table with three straight 1sts on Sunday seemed to have helped their scoreline a wee bit. Bolting out of the blue on Saturday and maintaining the same performance on Sunday was Simon Ling's Royal Airforce Team sailing SPITFIRE, taking six 2nds over the two days! In third for the Spring Champs is Ian Atkins' BOATS.COM with lots of 3rds and is hanging onto second in the Spring Series just one point back from NORTH SAILS.

J/80s are having a battle for second place while Stew Hawthorn sailing J'AI DEUX AMOURS is seemingly sailing away with the Spring Champs. The next four boats, successively, include JUICY (Allan Higgs), BETTY (Jon Powell) and AQUA J (Patrick Liardet) and they're all within 7 pts of each other! Exciting racing! On the Spring Series side, Powell's BETTY is still ruling the roost and it's unlikely he'll get unseated from their throne atop the standings. However, the battle is also for second place in the Series, with Gillian Ross' ROCK & ROLL and Allan Higgs' JUICY within 3 pts of each other, so anything goes in next weekend's finale.

Finally, the Spring Series IRC3 class continues to have an absolutely insane, panic-inducing, anxiety-driven, nose-to-nose dust-up to the grand finale next weekend. Four boats are essentially tied for the lead, including the J/97 JIGGERY POKERY sailed by Chaz Ivill and their stablemate J/97 INDULJENCE sailed by Nick & Adam Munday. Both boats lie 2nd and 3rd overall, tied on points at 10 apiece, one point from the lead and just 3 points above 4th!! Should create a few sleepless nights for these crews next weekend! The betting is getting HOT, HOT, HOT at Ladbrokes betting parlor for this gang of four!Sailing photo credits- Iain McLuckie For more Warsash Spring Series sailing informationGood Times J/Fest San Francisco!
(San Francisco, CA)- This year's J/Fest hosted by St Francis Yacht Club had another strong turnout of San Francisco Bay area J/Teams. Leading the way with twenty boats was the J/105 class, with good sailing for the J/24, J/70 and J/120 teams as well.

The J/105 class on San Francisco Bay continues to remain a strong fleet and fresh blood is always popping up over the course of time to make life interesting. Such was the case this past weekend. Leading the way home was Steve Kleha sailing the renown DONKEY JACK to first place with a 3-5-10-4-1 record for 23 pts to just nip a group of four veteran boats hot on their tail. Second was the team of Jason Woodley and Scott Whitney sailing RISK to a 4-2-5-5-9 tally for 25 pts, just two points back. Third was Pat Benedict on ADVANTAGE 3 putting on a strong effort to finish in the money with a 5-7-6-6-3 scoreline for 27 pts. Rounding out the top five based on a tie-breaker at 29 pts were Scooter Simmons on BLACKHAWK in 4th and Walter Sanford on ALCHEMY in fifth.

Similarly, the J/120s have such an evenly matched fleet it's often the case the top three are all just about tied on points after the smoke clears on the race course. For this event, it was Dick Swanson's GRACE DANCES that started off strong with two bullets to finally win the regatta with just 11 pts. Second was Barry Lewis's CHANCE with 13 pts, climbing up the score ladder quickly in the last three races with a 1-2-2. Third was Steve Madeira's MR MAGOO sailing a "barbell" series, weak start and finish scores bracketing a solid 2-3-3 to finished with 18 pts. Incredibly, though not too surprisingly, for this fleet was that 4th was a tie-breaker with John Wimer's DESDEMONA taking it over Timo Bruck's TWIST.

Familiar faces did prevail amongst the leaders in the J/24s, with Darren Cumming's DOWNTOWN UPROAR taking first by only one point over his buddy Mike Whitfield's TMC RACING! Third was Valentin Lulevich's brilliant, metaphorically named boat- SHUT & DRIVE! Smart guy, Valentin is-- drive that bus fast! :)

What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

* Annalise Murphy- just another J/24 sailor at the J/24 Worlds in Howth, Ireland?! Not!! Annalise is also a very committed Laser Radial sailor for the Olympics 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Here's what the boys will be up against -- see video link here-- great intro to Annalise's approach to self-improvement in sailing, even when it's freezing and snowing!

Ireland’s Annalise Murphy was the early leader at the 2012 Olympic Games, winning the first four races in the Laser Radial event. Going into the final race, Annalise was one of four sailors capable of standing on the podium, but got shut out of the medals. Based on this video, released by the Irish Sports Council, Annalise is undeterred. Watch out Rio 2016!

* Embracing the regatta experience as a family? Here's what Brandon Flack, his wife Cindy, and the kids have been doing with their J/70 TORQEEDO. Pretty amusing and cute story, not exactly the "DisneyWorld" experience many parents promise to their kids! Here's Brandon's story:

"When we bought a new sailboat this year, one thing on my mind was the advice of boats.com editorial director, John Burnham. “Don’t make the mistake I did,” he said. “Invite your kids to race with you while they still think you’re cool.”

Well, we just finished up a family trip to Florida to race our new J/70. I could’ve chosen a lot of different boats if I were the only one involved. My former college race buddies make a formidable crew in any boat. But the J/70 has a multi-purpose aspect that jumped out at me right off the design table. Here’s a sport boat that’s fun for my pals, but easy to handle for my family.

When we landed in Florida, it was 60 degrees, light wind, and lots of RAIN. Not what the brochure (or the old man) had promised. It took a bit of convincing to get the family into their fresh new foul weather gear but once they realized they would stay dry, we made it off the dock for an afternoon practice sail. The sails went up and down and everyone watching seemed impressed our family crew could do it. And at the end of the day we cheered as a hint of sunshine finally broke through.

When the official racing began the next day, we sailed our first race as a full family team. Dylan, 7, is the bowman/driver in a pinch. Lily, 10, is the jib trimmer and neat freak who keeps the middle of the boat tidy. My wife Cindy is the spinnaker trimmer and voice of reason. Dad does the boat work and drives.

Coaching was all about trying to do things in very slow motion and set up a rhythm for how each job was done. Crew placement, line locations, labels, terms, and new vocabulary were all our part of our “comfort level curve”.

Not that we didn’t have some frustrations. They say what goes up must come down, but that was not the case with our spinnaker. We just could not seem to get the hang of getting that thing back in the boat and spent a few mark roundings chasing it for a few extra minutes.

I usually make the tactical decisions around the course, but the kids made the best call of day. After the race, with the wind dying, they radioed the RC and said we’d be heading in — the pool was calling. This caused a domino effect, and the whole fleet soon followed suit.

Our crew work was flawless when it mattered most. After the kids radioed the RC, they jumped down below and pulled out the Torqeedo in its three easy-to-move, lightweight parts (battery, tiller and shaft). They assembled and lit up the engine, and we were off and running-- first place all the way in, for the all-important race to the dock and, more importantly, THE POOL!! Kids win.

When all was said and done, we could've sailed better as a team. However, I know we won our own personal victory; the kids are pumped to sail in the next event and try to do better!"

* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again! We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR.

Alan sent us an email update commenting on their passage south this winter, "In mid-December AVATAR completed her sixth transit to her winter Caribbean home, Grand Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI (seen above) from her home port in Quissett (Falmouth), MA. A crew of three, Captain Alan (e.g. me), Crew Pablo Brissett and Mark Conroy, covered the 1,500 nm trip in in her best time to date- 7 Days 5 Hours, averaging 8.7 kts, that's about 208 nm per day! Amazing passage it was! Rainbow at right far offshore was some of the amazing phenomenon we experienced on this fast offshore passage.

AVATAR will participate in the BVI Sailing Festival/Regatta again in 2013, where last year she won the Nanny Key Cup Cruising Class race around the Island of Virgin Gorda. Here are some photos for you to share with the J/Community at-large. Enjoy!"
Best, Alan Fougere/ AVATAR

* Bill & Judy Stellin recently had an interview about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea". The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:

Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' QuestionsAdvice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety

The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.

WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"

Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.

Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.

People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."

The J Cruising Community J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers. Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.

* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/

* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.

* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).

- SALACIA, the J/160 owned by Stephen and Cyndy Everett has an on-going blog describing some of their more amusing experiences (http://www.salacia1.blogspot.com).

- Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".

- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA), then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.

J/Brokerage

J/65 MAITRI For Sale

Custom build, sloop-rigged, J/65 is long and lean with low wetted surface, allowing the boat to be easily driven with a moderate sailplan in light airs. To make target cruising speeds of 9-10 knots, J/65 won't be as dependent upon auxiliary diesel power as most vessels in her category. A graceful sweeping sheerline and flared topsides allow for a sleek and purposeful silhouette and a dry, comfortable ride. The large, protected aft cockpit offers plenty of space to get comfortable as well as great protection offshore. MAITRI was built in 2006 and currently resides in San Diego, CA.

Questar is an immaculate and extremely well maintained J/46 built in 2000. Commissioned for an avid and seasoned yachtsman, she is thoughtfully outfitted and well equipped and currently resides in San Diego, CA.

J/46 may be the only investment grade sailing yacht of its size not requiring professional crew to sail at designed performance levels-- or to maintain. Two people can easily manage her upwind and down to achieve the same 8 knot passage-making speeds under sail that is possible when motoring with 76hp diesel auxiliary. The joy of sailing the perfect boat is, after all, a goal we believe every owner ultimately seeks. To insure that good sailing days are spent sailing rather than scrubbing and varnishing, J/46 is designed to be virtually maintenance-free. Her exquisite joinerwork is protected from the sun-- belowdecks where it’s beauty can be preserved.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

J/70 Newport Beach Show
(Newport Beach, CA)- As an enormous contingent of J/70s are marking their debut at Charleston Race Week on the East Coast with 56 boats attending, the West Coast J/70 fleet is rapidly building momentum with fleets developing in the southern California areas-- such as San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and points even further north like San Francisco.

This weekend the J/70 will be marking its debut at the upcoming Newport Beach Spring Boat Show. The show is at the Lido Marina Village in Newport Beach, CA and runs from April 18-21.

Furthermore, the Southern California J/70 Fleet # 4 members will be hosting an open house at the show! Please come on down to the show and talk shop with 70 sailors who've already been out on the water having a fun time with their friends and family! Sailing photo credit- Onne Vanderwal For more Newport Boat Show informationJ/111 North American Championship Update
(Chicago, IL)- This August J/111 Fleet #1 on Lake Michigan will host the first annual North American Championships from 15-18th of August. With the racecourse just off the visually stunning shore that's lined with Chicago's famous skyscrapers and beautiful white-sand beaches, this regatta offers the quintessential Chicago sailing experience. Headquartered at the Chicago Yacht Club’s Belmont Station, owners and their crew can expect a first-class race committee, with amenities to match.

If you have yet to experience sailing on Lake Michigan, this event also offers an exceptional opportunity for more than just the J/111 NACs. As Chicago is undoubtedly the gateway to sailing on Lake Michigan, we would like to further entice you to spend some more time with us on one of America’s greatest freshwater lakes. The world famous Race to Mackinac Island, hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club, consists of a 333 mile race up the lake starting on July 13, boasting up to 350 boats. The Mac is a “bucket-list” race for many sailors, a legendary freshwater offshore classic.

Next on the schedule is the Port Huron to Mac Island Race that begins July 20th starting from Detroit, MI. In addition, the Little Traverse Bay Yacht Club hosts the Ugotta Regatta from July 26-28th, a nice stop for those boats headed back to Chicago from the island. Preceding the North Americans is the Verve Cup, also hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club August 9-11th, which can serve as an important warm-up.

Finally, the city of Chicago is a vibrant place in the summer, offering festivals, concerts, baseball games, and is home to countless museums. It's one city that actually comes to life in the summer along with the whole lake. Additionally, up and down the coast of Lake Michigan, cozy villages along the shores from Charlevoix to Sturgeon Bay, all the way down to Kenosha and St. Joseph are stunners in the summer and offer relaxing weekend getaways accessible by boat or car. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes.com

Please check the regatta website (http://j111nac2013.wix.com/j111nac2013). We encourage you to contact us if you have any questions or comments regarding this event! We hope to see you in Chicago! For more J/111 info please email- j111nac2013@gmail.comBMW J/24 Worlds- Update from Ireland
(Howth, Ireland)- This year's J/24 Worlds promises to be a special event, one remembered for decades to come. It's the first 24 Worlds hosted by the Irish J/24 class and you can bet the Irish sailors will do their best to roll-out the red carpet for all participants and ensure everyone (almost without fail) will have an absolutely fantastic time!

With the event sailing from August 22-30, 2013, we recently got a nice update from Derek Bothwell - Event Chairman. Says Derek, "With just a little over five months to go until the start of the BMW J/24 World Championships I am very happy to say that everything is going well on the planning side. Entries are stacking up and I am very pleased to see that we have interest from many J2/4 sailors representing North & South America, Europe & Asia.

I am delighted that the current World Champion, Mauricio Santa Cruz, from Brazil, will arrive in Howth to defend his title. This really puts it up to the Europeans who have only a pond to cross in comparison to arrive in large numbers.

We will also have Allison Young heading up a ladies team from the UK. Allison who competed in the Laser Radial in the Weymouth Olympics has a very busy year ahead as she continues to train for the next event in Rio. It is a challenge for our lady sailors which should not be overlooked.

Charter boats are being snapped up and there is a lot of activity on the accommodation front, so if you are thinking of entering, do not get left out!

The Irish J/24 National Championships will be run on the 16th and 17th of August in the same waters with the same Race management team, so why not come early and get a taste of the venue and tides." For more BMW J/24 Worlds sailing informationJ/Fest San Francisco Preview
(San Francisco, CA)- This year's J/Fest hosted by St Francis Yacht Club has another strong turnout of San Francisco Bay area J/Teams. Leading the way is perhaps one of the strongest J/105 fleets in the country followed by the always competitive J/120 class on the Bay. In addition, the J/70s are making their debut in this year's event and will be sailing alongside their stablemates, a fleet of a half-dozen J/24s.

For the J/105 teams, there's a likelihood that you may see past Rolex Big Boat Series Champions like Scooter Simmons on BLACKHAWK, Bruce Stone on ARBITRAGE and Adam Spiegle on JAM SESSION amongst the leaders.

The J/120s have such an evenly matched fleet it's well-nigh impossible to forecast a fleet leader as nearly all of the boats have won some regatta or another over the course of time. In any event, you should see amongst the leaders Barry Lewis's CHANCE, John Wimer's DESDEMONA, Dick Swanson's GRACE DANCES and Steve Madeira's MR MAGOO.

Familiar faces should also be amongst the leaders in the J/24s, including Darren Cumming's DOWNTOWN UPROAR, Mike Whitfield's TMC RACING and Rich Jepsen's RAIL TO RAIL.

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

For awhile it seemed that "old man winter" simply would not let go for the crusty, determined spring-time sailors in the northern parts. Nevertheless, it looks like the next scenario was whether or not the old adage of "April showers bring May flowers" was a bit of a hoax. For in some parts of American and Europe, the fronts were still dishing out snow, hail, thundershowers and tornados depending on where you were sailing. Nevertheless, it looks like the pattern is breaking apart and perhaps the last week or two of April won't be marked by torrential downpours. Even the famous Les Voiles St Barths Regatta had their share of crazy weather, but in the end the fleet that included the J/122, J/109, J/125, J/95, J/105 and J/80 teams survived to enjoy a spectacular final day of racing. In Europe, the British Keelboat Academy hosted their inaugural Inter-Club Challenge Cup that included youth sailors on IRC and J/80 one-design class sailboats. Also sailing in the renowned waters of the Solent were the Warsash Spring Series contenders in the J/70, J/80 and J/109 one-design classes and IRC 3 competitors that include leading J/97s and a J/92. Down Under, the J/97 sailing in Sydney, Australia had a successful season sailing in the Super 30s class. Across the "big western pond" (a.k.a. the Pacific), there was a hotly contested J/22 California Match Race Challenge hosted by St Francis Yacht Club with a bold effort from Newport Harbor YC. Some of those sailors will be participating in the J/Fest San Francisco event this coming weekend!

Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north. Check them out! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it orupload onto our J/Boats Facebook page! Below are the summaries.

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.J/122 LAZY DOG Wins St Barths!
(George Town, St Barths)- The final day of racing at Les Voiles de St. Barth served up lively conditions for the fleet, with 20+ knots of wind whipping up four to six foot seas. The race committee sent the Spinnaker 1 and 2 classes on a 17 nautical mile course along the western side of the island, somewhat protected by the lee of the land but nevertheless providing shifty conditions. Spinnaker 3 and Non-Spinnaker classes sailed a 26 nautical mile course around the islands off the north and east side of St. Barths, fully exposed to the fresh breeze and ocean swell.

In Maxi/Racing, new J/70 owner Jim Swartz sailed his TP52 VESPER to a string of bullets to win the class. Swartz said, “This week has been pretty typical: constant wind, 15-17 knots, predictable but shifty, with challenging and nice waves on the backside of the island. Kind of a sailor’s paradise; the race committee does a great job, the people are terrific.”

In the Spinnaker 1 class, the standings going into today were close for the class leaders. In the end, past J/105 Champion tactician Steve Cucchiaro along with long-time J sailor Jack Slattery (North Sails) sailed DEFIANCE to a solid 1-1-2-2 score line, but sadly faded on the last race to settle for a second overall. Loving the reaching conditions of the last race was the J/125 HAMACHI sailed by Greg Slyngstad, taking second in the race but not enough to snag third place, missing by 4 pts and having to settle for fourth instead.

Sergio Sagramoso’s J/122 LAZY DOG returned to form, posting a first in the last race to take Spinnaker 2 racing class. The ebullient Puerto Rican sailor said, “This was probably our best season in the Caribbean: we won the Heineken Regatta, BVI Spring Regatta, were 2nd at International Rolex Regatta, and we’ve won this!”

Sagramoso goes on to say, “I think in sailboat racing, especially when you do it with the same crew year after year – and these are friends who are not professionals, there are no professionals on board – everything has to click. I’ve had a year like this before, but you can go five or six years without having a year like this. When everyone is on top of their game physically, mentally, and the boat is ready, everything clicks and then you start winning. I think we are in one of those years, it takes a long time to get there, but we have it now.”

In Spinnaker 3 racing class, the "girls boat", the J/109 LES VOILES AU FEMININ ST BARTH sailed by Sophie Olivaud to a fourth overall, just two points out of third!

In the Non-Spinnaker class, it was another tough competition for these teams. Finishing in the money again was Tom Mullens' J/95 SHAMROCK VII, taking second place and getting yet another podium finish in as many Caribbean events they've participated in over the last few weeks. Hanging in there for fourth overall was the custom J/120 JAGUAR ISLAND WATERWORLD sailed by Ben Jelic. Sailing photo credits- Tim Wright/ Photoaction.com. For more Les Voiles St Barths sailing informationJ/97 Takes Gold in Sydney Super 30s
(Sydney, Australia)- The J/97 KNOCKABOUT has been racing in the Sydney Amateur Sailing Club's Super 30 Gold Cup fleet. After sailing all season long, the KNOCKABOUT team managed to capitalise on their good start to the season to win both the PHS and AMS pointscores for the 2012-3 season! Here's a report from Ray Entwistle who sailed with the team for much of the season:

"As one might expect, the PHS pointscore got more challenging as time went by, and our handicap tightened. A horror third last race, due to a last minute loss of key crew on a 20-25 knot day (setting extras would have been just careless), saw us slip to second place. Fortunately, this was followed by a glamour penultimate race, which gave us a win and put us back into the lead. We still had to give a good performance in the last race but it ended up as a bit of an anticlimax as the wind glassed-out and the race was abandoned, handing us the Gold Medal.

The AMS (Australian Measurement System) pointscore was less nail-biting, we had that secured after the penultimate race! An excellent showing of how the J/97 performs under measurement based handicapping. With a scoring consisting of 4x 1st, 3x 2nds, 3x 3rds and 2x 4ths the J/97 has certainly proved a very serious candidate in this hot shot super 30 fleet. The big difference is with the J/97 we can now go family cruising in luxury! None of our competitors can even come close to claiming that capability!

All in all a good reason to attend this year's prizegiving. Not bad for a crew with average age hovering around 6 decades!" For more J/97 family cruiser-racer sailing informationPoole Yacht Club Triumphs @ Inter Club Challenge Cup
(Southampton, England)- This past weekend, a team of young sailors from Poole Yacht Club has won the inaugural British Keelboat Academy Inter-Club Challenge Cup.

The event was hosted by the Royal Southern Yacht Club on behalf of the British Keelboat Academy, and aimed to get more young sailors out racing on yachts to increase the engagement of sailors, clubs and boat owners in the opportunities which the BKA is able to offer to support the development of young sailors. The format is based on the best scores of two boat teams from each yacht club (one IRC boat and one J/80 team).

Poole Yacht Club's winning team the J/80 LAST CHANCE sailed by Chris Doe. Combined with her team-mate, their aggregate scores over three races was 13 pts. Their score was enough to hold off the RORC team that included Nick Haigh's JAI DEUX AMOUR with on 18 points.

Some 80 young sailors took part in the event, all demonstrating great skill on the water to handle their boats in gusty conditions, with driving rain later in the day and the continuing unseasonably cold weather not making things any easier.

Many of the sailors were new to this size of boats and were using this event as part of making the transition into keelboat racing. On some boats, the sailors were supported by more experienced older sailors on board, whilst several boats had been entrusted to a complete crew under the age of 25 - great testament to the skill of these young sailors.

Jim Macgregor, from Poole Yacht Club, summed up the event from their perspective: "It was the first time many of the Team had sailed a keelboat outside of Poole, so to visit the Solent and keep Teams from RORC, The Royal Yacht Squadron and The Royal Southern Yacht Club behind them was particularly satisfying and will have given their self-confidence a huge boost, further bolstering their enthusiasm to do more. The tough conditions encountered in getting the team boats from Poole to The Solent and back just added to the character building experience of the event. Bonding was further built by the youngsters being empowered to organise and run the campaign themselves, under the watchful eye of Chris Doe who, at 26, was by far the eldest of the 27 sailors (average age under 19). Suffice to say the rest of the club was right behind the Team with support whenever it was needed. There can be no doubt that Poole YC's win and the networking experienced will have given them a whole new view on their future sailing plans and a will to apply for a position in the British Keelboat Academy."

After sailing, all participants were able to hear from an experienced panel about the opportunities at the top level of yacht racing. Current BKA squad member James French, himself only 20, talked about the his experience skippering the British team at the recent Red Bull Youth America's Cup trials and, particularly, the benefit of the experience and training he had received as part of the British Keelboat Academy.

Luke McCarthy, British Keelboat Academy Head Coach, commented: "It was great to see so many young sailors out on the water and all sailing their boats really well in some tough conditions.

"I am sure that many will go on to be really successful keelboat sailors, and we look forward to welcoming lots of them to the BKA in future. Thanks to all those involved with making this first event such a success."

Editor's note- after reviewing the results, it does appear the best two boat team (IRC + J/80) in fact happens to be the Royal Southern YC's Adam Munday sailing his J/97 INDULJENCE, taking 2nd in IRC Class with 6 pts and his team-mate, the J/80 SEAFIRE sailed by Bruno Van Dyke, that won the J/80 one-design class with 5 pts, making for a combined total for both boats of 11 pts?? Were these two sailors and their Royal Southern YC team not the winners according to the format? One wonders.

In the end, the BKA Inter-Club Challenge Cup is a wonderful idea to promote youth sailing. Congratulations to Adam Munday's team (RSYC) on his J/97 INDULJENCE for their second place in IRC Class and to Alastair Speare-Coles team (BKA) on the J/109 ALICE for finishing 3rd in IRC. Thanks must also go out to David Aisher's J/109 YEOMAN (Royal Yacht Squadron) for participating in the event, too.

In the J/80s, congratulations Bruno Van Dyke's team (RSYC) sailing SEAFIRE to first overall. They were closely followed by Nick Haigh's JAI DEUX AMOURS team (RORC) in second and by Chris Doe's LAST CHANCE team (Poole YC) in third. For more Inter-Club Challenge Cup sailing information For more British Keelboat Academy sailing informationSt Francis YC Wins Battle of California
(San Francisco, CA)- It was Northern California versus Southern California as St. Francis Yacht Club and Newport Harbor Yacht Club faced off in their Challenge Match Race event on San Francisco Bay.

Each club brought teams with skippers aged 20+, 40+, 60+, and a flag officer for a series of match races in J/22s. This inaugural series went to the bay area hosts, with young, seasoned match racers Shawn Bennet and Craig Healy joining veteran match racers Bruce Stone and Cai Svendsen to represent St Francis Yacht Club.

As reported by event Chairman Russ Silvestri, "It was a good time and a great couple of parties. The racing was dominated by StFYC's team consisting of Stone, Svendsen, Healy and Bennett. They sailed very well over 44 races. It got a bit breezy on Sunday and we cancelled the fleet/team race.

Hope to do the event next year down there, but it was like a wedding weekend-- everyone had a good time. Mads Tolling, Bruce Stone’s musician friend, played a little violin during the awards ceremony to add to the luster of the event." For more Match Race Challenge California sailing informationWarsash Series Swinging Into Spring- Finally!
(Warsash, England)- After three weeks of freezing weather, a hint of spring was in the air on 14th April 2013 for the fourth Sunday in the Brooks Macdonald Warsash Spring Series. With the temperature rising to double figures, the thermal layers could be left behind and there was no ice to clear from the decks. Although the forecast promised 16-20 knots from the south with gusts to 30 knots, these did not materialize and the full program of racing could be completed for all classes.

The Black Group committee boat took up station at Flying Fish buoy. After a short postponement, a light south-easterly set in sufficient to design courses between 11 and 15 miles, using a mixture of laid and fixed marks. Despite the east-going tide, all classes got away cleanly. The early classes started with a beat to a laid mark east of North Ryde Middle in a very light breeze of 3-6 knots. IRC3 had an initial beat to South Ryde Middle in a 10-12 knot breeze. Wind over tide produced a slight chop which slowed some. Others were regretting leaving their light weather sails ashore in view of the forecast! As the morning drew on, the wind backed to the south-southwest and increased, producing short sharp gusts which caused some broaches and wraps as well as stunning downwind racing. Spinnakers were used on the legs designed as such, but later these sometimes turned to shy reaches from true runs.

Conditions suited the bowsprit designs in IRC3 with JIGGERY POKERY (J/97 – Charles Ivill) taking a win from sistership INDULJENCE ((Nick and Adam Munday). As a result, JIGGER POKERY is now leading the IRC3 division for the Spring Series. INDULJENCE has also closed the gap on the leaders and is currently lying third just three points out of first! The racing is coming down to the wire amongst the top three teams with just two weekends of sailing left on the series!

In the J/109s DESIGNSTAR 2 (Roger Phillips), competing for the first time this series, took the lead from JYNNAN TONNYX (Owain Franks and Jean Lockett). And, JAHMALI (Mike & Sarah Wallis) snagged third. As a result, JYNNAN TONNYX still remains in the dries lead with just 12 points, one point clear of JAHMALI. Third is JUST SO (David Mcgough) with 18 pts. There is a bit of a wrestling match going on between J/109 champions JAGERBOMB (Paul Griffiths) and OFFBEAT (David Mcleman) who are tied for fourth each with 20 pts.

The sportsboats in White Group also assembled in the entrance to Southampton Water. Relieved to find no forecast Force 4-6, a three-round windward/leeward course was set parallel to the shore, 0.65nm long. The J/70 class got away but there was disappointment for EXESS in the J/80s, having led all the way round, to return and find she was over the line at the start. This left the win to current series leader BETTY (Jon Powell). In the J/70s a mere 66 seconds separated the fleet on the finish line, with North Sails taking this first race.

In the second White Group race there were individual recalls in the J/70s and J/80s but this time everyone returned quickly. Halfway through, the wind started to shift and had soon gone through 90 degrees to the south-west. The race was shortened and the committee boat moved inshore ready for the third race. With the wind in the 8-10 knot range the J/70s got away cleanly only for one of the forecast gusts to come in at over 20 knots just two minutes before the J/80 start. At this point the committee boat’s anchor began to drag causing a short delay. The enthusiasm of the fleet to get under way showed when half the boats were too keen on the start line. With several hidden in the middle a general recall was needed before all went smoothly on the next attempt. Again, there was close racing in the J/70s. This time the fleet finished within 27 seconds after 50 minutes of racing. Simon Cavey in PHEEBS posted two wins and a third for the day, whilst BETTY (Jon Powell) gained the same score in the J/80s.

As a result of the days scores, Ian Atkins' boats.com crew are still in the lead, but having less than a brilliant day not on the scorecard (a 4-2), all of a sudden they look vulnerable despite having a seemingly insurmountable series lead. With 23 pts total, the boats.com team has a 7 pts lead over the fast improving PHEEBS team lead by Simon Cavey, now with an aggregate 30 pts. Also faltering a bit this past weekend was NORTH SAILS (Ruairidh Scott) notching a 2-4 on his scorecard to drop into third two points back with 32 pts.

The J/80s continue to see Jon Powell and crew riding the mighty BETTY fast, hard and furious, never letting up on the fleet and rarely showing a chink in their armor. With 19 pts, the betting is good that BETTY is well on her way to taking the J/80s with 19 pts after 12 races! Behind them by 23 pts is Gillian Ross's ROCK & ROLL in second overall. They're followed by Allan Higgs' JUICY with 59 pts in third place.

What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

* College of Charleston Crew Takes on J/70 World-- Charleston Race Week attracts a broad range of competitors, and they arrive from all over the U.S. and at least six foreign countries. Among the participants in this three-day competition you’ll find full-time professional racers, sailing industry experts and talented amateur sailors, along with those who are just getting a taste of serious sailing competition for the first time.

One of the most hotly contested groups among the 18 different classes that make up the event is apt to be the J/70 Class. With 56 boats registered, this will also be the largest class at the regatta. These 23-foot long speedsters were only introduced last year, but already they’ve gained tremendous market traction.

Within the J/70 Class will be an equally broad spectrum of competitors, with plenty of nationally renowned sailors scattered across the fleet. Among those in the class who aren’t so widely known is a crew with close ties to Charleston, and they’ll be sailing on a boat they’ve christened MOXIE.

Skippered by Cole Allsopp who now lives in Annapolis, Md, Moxie’s crew includes Zeke Horowitz, Brendan Healy, and Sam Stokes – all recent graduates of the College of Charleston and former stalwarts on the school’s top-notch varsity sailing team.

The College of Charleston’s Director of Sailing, Greg Fisher, sat down with this quartet recently to hear them out on their plans for Charleston Race Week.

"Greg Fisher: You guys had a great regatta at Key West, a big one for you and the J/70 Class. How do you look forward to, and prepare for, Charleston Race Week?

Zeke Horowitz: I think it is important to look at CRW as a completely different event than Key West. People have been in the boats for a while now, and I would imagine that the speed differences will be less in Charleston. Most importantly, though, the conditions that we will see in Charleston will be absolutely nothing like what we saw in Key West. Conditions will be changing dramatically from race to race and leg to leg, whereas in Key West, the conditions (and therefor the race track) were pretty much the same for the entire event. This will make tactics and strategy the driving force to success as opposed to KWRW where speed was most important. We will be prepared to use our local knowledge to put our boat in the right spots on the race course where we will be able to use the speed that we know we’ll have.

GF: How much time had you guys spent in the J/70 before Key West?

Cole Allsopp: Unfortunately, we had spent very little time in the boat. Fortunately that was also the case for most of our competitors. We attempted one practice day in Annapolis all together, but the breeze did not cooperate. James (Cole’s brother who sailed with them at KWRW) and Brendan sailed the boat for the Fall Brawl and we did some frostbiting. Beyond that, we spent very little time preparing.

ZH: As far as I know, Cole, Brendan, and James spent a decent amount of time in the boat together before the event, but KWRW was really my first time in the boat, and first time crewing for Cole or sailing with either of the other two. That gave me a pretty good chance to learn the boat and get a lot of the tuning ideas in mind.

Brendan Healy: We didn’t spend a great deal of time in the boat before the event to be honest. James and I sailed the Fall Brawl in Annapolis with fellow College of Charleston alum, Russ O’Reilly. I’m pretty sure Russ and I were a pretty enormous and expensive headache for James. We figured out in no time how exactly to shrimp and shred a kite. We did, however, come away from that event with a few nuggets of knowledge. We also sailed in a practice season against one other local boat in town, but as a group we only sailed one short afternoon in Annapolis with very little breeze. So, how much time did we have in the boat before KWRW?, not much." Please read on at Scuttlebutt's complete interview here.

* In the category of you can't teach an old dog new tricks, how about this one! Augie Diaz (a.k.a. "Augie Doggie" and who's father is affectionately known in Miami sailing circles as simply "old man") spent years sailing J/24's (Midwinter Champion, etc), 470's and Snipe's (World Champion, Pan Am Champion, etc) and in his later years Stars. Recently, Augie won the Star Western Hemisphere Championship in that fabled Star-sailing paradise known as Nassau, Bahamas. Trailing by two points going into the final day of the Western Hemispheres, Augie Diaz and crew Arnis Baltins bulleted both races to take the title among the 21 team field. Not bad for an "old dog", eh?? Here's a recent photo of Augie with the Editor in front of Coral Reef YC- both competitors and best friends sailing 470s and J/24s for decades, in fact ever since the first U.S. Youth Championships sailed in Wilmette, Illinois in 1973!

* Growing Sailing- "Girls Rule?" While sailing industry types scratch their heads trying to find the right formula to increase the number of kids in sailing programs, and sailing clubs and racing associations nationwide worry about declining memberships, sailing is shifting and growing under their feet.

Promoters repackage races to appeal to shoreside fans of testosterone-loaded extreme sports, selling sponsorships to brands which, in turn, hope fans will buy shirts or drinks, and sailboat builders seek designs hoping for mass appeal or some new “breakthrough” formula, all while sailing is being revolutionized from the inside out.

Sailing is becoming the activity of adult women.

Don’t believe it? Quick, say the last names of Ellen, Dawn, Betsy and Anna. You got them all in a few seconds right? Now try to do that quickly with the names of four guys who sail.

But it’s much more than a few popular female sailing athletes. This revolution isn’t being led by pros or celebrities, but by grassroots changes and on all new terms.

Here’s some evidence: Facebook analytics reports that among 1.1 million Americans who express an interest in sailing, women account for 51%, and 88% of them are over 25 years old. But they’re not just fans. Women under 24 and over 35 share their own sailing experiences on Facebook almost twice as often as men.

Consider that only 20 years ago, men outnumbered women in sailing 7-to-1.

You might see it in your town. What sailing center’s teaching staff isn’t dominated by strong, athletic, articulate and confident female sailing instructors? What collegiate sailing team doesn’t have at least as many women as men? What yacht club doesn’t like to boast about its first female commodore? And what regatta doesn’t overplay its all-female entries?

In many cities near water in the U.S., women are organizing all-women teams and events. These events often grow organically out of a small network of veteran sailors who cobble together some used boats and recruit and help train newcomers until they’ve built a decent-sized fleet. In my town, summer Monday nights (the night the women sail) are the busiest nights on the bay.

When a sailing mom’s kids are very young, they get an inspiring early taste. They learn to be on and around boats and sailors, to wear life jackets, to touch water, and to be safe. Then, when her kids are old enough to be on a sailing team, the family becomes the team. Mom doesn’t sit in the bleachers at a soccer field, she trims the kite, steers the boat or calls tactics.

So, the most important person on any sailing boat is the mom. Think about it this way: When a mom sails with her kids (instead of driving them to soccer) she’s doing something deemed suited only to men just a few years ago, and she is not doing the things thought to be the status quo for moms today. She’s a renegade. An innovator. A leader. Read on at SAILING Magazine.

* Congo Cup Update- While it may have been billed as a "dream win" for one sailor from Italy, the rock-solid team of Ed Baird and Terry Hutchinson (dual J/24 World Champions) eliminated all their competitors to sail the final match. But, for most who've watched this event over the years, it was quite a disappointing finale. Even Ed Baird was a bit mystified why they would sail a one-race championship showdown, a quarter-mile race windward-leeward twice around in next to no wind to determine the winner!

Here's how it all went down. Earlier in the long afternoon fickle and feeble breeze delayed the start of racing for about two hours and then stopped it again for an hour in mid-afternoon before a 6-knot southerly showed up under a heavy cloud cover to allow the title match to go at 5:15 p.m early Sunday evening.

Even then, the conditions were so fragile PRO Randy Smith cut the title and petite finals from best-of-threes to single matches!

So, after Ferrarese had spotted Great Britain's Ian Williams--- the double defending champ and world No. 1---their first semifinal match before winning the next two and Baird had dispatched France's Mathieu Richard with wins in their first and third go-rounds, it all came down to a single race.

That's when Smith also ordered the windward-leeward, twice-around course shortened from a 0.35 nautical mile to 0.25---a mere quarter-mile that seemed to suffice??

As it was, Ferrarese found breeze that nobody else could, first winning the favored left side from Baird, who went right at the start, and extending his leads from 29 seconds at the first windward mark to 35 at the leeward, 48 at the second windward and finally 54 at the finish. Baird said, "He just went the better way. We gave him what he wanted." For more Congo Cup sailing information- http://www.lbyc.org

* J/160 AVATAR headed for the Caribbean, again! We LOVE these updates from our cruising J sailors that continue to criss-cross the Seven Seas. This one comes from Alan Fougere, sailing his beloved J/160 AVATAR.

Alan sent us an email update commenting on their passage south this winter, "In mid-December AVATAR completed her sixth transit to her winter Caribbean home, Grand Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI (seen above) from her home port in Quissett (Falmouth), MA. A crew of three, Captain Alan (e.g. me), Crew Pablo Brissett and Mark Conroy, covered the 1,500 nm trip in in her best time to date- 7 Days 5 Hours, averaging 8.7 kts, that's about 208 nm per day! Amazing passage it was! Rainbow at right far offshore was some of the amazing phenomenon we experienced on this fast offshore passage.

AVATAR will participate in the BVI Sailing Festival/Regatta again in 2013, where last year she won the Nanny Key Cup Cruising Class race around the Island of Virgin Gorda. Here are some photos for you to share with the J/Community at-large. Enjoy!"
Best, Alan Fougere/ AVATAR

* Bill & Judy Stellin recently had an interview about cruising on their J/42 in the Wall St Journal called "Retiring on the Open Sea". The Wall St Journal asked Bill to reply to dozens of questions that flooded into the WSJ's Editor desks. Here's the update:

Retiring on the Sea: Answering Readers' QuestionsAdvice about selecting a boat, ocean crossings, itineraries and safety

The article in our WSJ Online December retirement report about eight years spent sailing the Mediterranean— "Retiring to the Open Sea"— prompted many questions and comments from readers. We asked William Stellin, who wrote the story, to answer some of the most common queries.

WSJ- "What kind and make of boat did you use? Looking back, would you have picked a different boat?"

Bill- "In 1995-96, J/Boats of Newport, RI, came out with a new cruiser/racer model, the J/42. We bought hull No. 6 of this popular 42-foot sailboat and named it JAYWALKER. This was our fourth boat since beginning sailing in 1975.

Although long-distance cruising wasn't what we had in mind when we purchased JAYWALKER, it soon became apparent it had the ability to carry us easily and safely anywhere we wanted to go. Because the boat is light, it sails well in light winds, which means very little motoring is necessary.

People often ask (and argue) about what boat is best for cruising. Any boat that is strong, safe, fast, comfortable and easily handled by two people should fit the bill. One thing for sure, fast is fun—and important when trying to avoid bad weather."

The J Cruising Community J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers. Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.

* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/

* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.

* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).

- SALACIA, the J/160 owned by Stephen and Cyndy Everett has an on-going blog describing some of their more amusing experiences (http://www.salacia1.blogspot.com).

- Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".

- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA), then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.